The UK is ‘missing out’ on International Students

By Simon Thompson

By Elizabeth Whittingham

According to a new study, it seems apparent that the UK is missing out massively on international student applications due to strict UK VISA regulations.

University leaders are calling for the VISA system to be changed in order to allow international students to remain in Britain for a further two years after they graduate- in order to increase employment opportunities and an extended international experience.

According to universities, if the option is not there to work after graduation, applications from international students will drop- with many applying instead for places of study in countries such as the US, Canada and Australia instead.

According to the BBC, Australia has overtaken the UK for its numbers of international students.

With no cap on international student quotas amongst UK universities, overseas students are a lucrative trade for UK higher education institutions, meaning that a drop in applications affects university funding and overall appeal.

In the wake of falling international student applications, the university leaders are calling for the introduction of a much more welcoming environment, stating that the option to stay and work for a further two years after graduation is a brilliant way to put across a much more ‘welcoming’ environment for students and graduates.

Research has also shown that the US, Canada and Australia have a much higher percentage of lucrative international applications due to their decision to allow students to stay and work.

Steve Smith, of Universities UK- has stated that universities are ‘missing out’ on the increasing levels of international students.

The government removed the right to work for two years after graduation for international students in 2012 after they claimed that students were mis-using and abusing their position by staying for longer than was expected of them.

However, according to Steve Smith, this statement is not true, with evidence finding that 98 per cent of all international students complied with their ‘visa requirements’.

Smith goes on to argue that the removal of VISA rights has not only caused substantial financial losses, it also has the ability to cause long term damage to the UK university system in terms of welcoming international students, stating that the UK will soon be failing massively to recruit international talent.

Smith also argues that Brexit will lead to a greater demand for overseas skilled workers, and that the tight VISA regulations will mean that these will be different to find- according to Smith, the UK needs to be appear as ‘open for business’ for prospective international students in order to keep the economy, the education system and the country going after the break from Europe.

It is clear that a crackdown on VISAs has had a rippling effect throughout the whole of the UK.

The issue becomes even more worrying when the statistics after also unveiled.

International student numbers have increased by only 3 per cent in the UK over the past decade, whilst the US numbers have increased by 40 per cent, Australia by 45 and Canada by 57!

Where before 2012 the UK were welcoming thousands of Chinese students, the number has completely halved in just 6 years!

According to the BBC, the recruitment of international students recruits 200,000 people a year into paid jobs- whilst international students also bring in an economic impact of over 25 billion pounds- including a rather impressive 1 billion in tax revenue!

With there being absolutely no limit on the number of international students the UK can take, it appears that a quick look through and edit of the VISA system is needed in order to ensure that we do not lose the financial benefit of welcoming students from overseas.

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